Have you never heard of this power?

I might not have discovered how you humans get rid of your waste but did you know that whenever you go to the bathroom, you just might be getting rid of a potential energy source? As gross as it might sound, poop can actually be used as a sort of fuel. 

Brace yourself my friends, this is video is going to stink! 

Before you go and try to start up a business out of your bathroom, let’s look at how much “fuel” a person produces. We’re going to have to do some estimating here, but the more fiber a person gets in their diet, the more waste they typically have coming out of the other end. 

One study found that the average person would produce more than 128 grams of wet stool a day, but the highest value was closer to 796 grams a day! They must have been eating nothing but tree bark and grass at that point! Now, not everyone across the globe is going to be producing this same amount of wet stool, since they’re not all eating the same types of foods. But let’s just assume that we can apply the 128 grams a day value globally. 

This would mean that an estimate for the amount of poop produced by all the people in the world could be at around 960 billion grams a day! But only about 25-30% of this would be viable fuel since the rest is mainly water. 

Another study found that women’s wet stools had an energy content of around 7 kJ/g, so adding all of that potential fuel up could lead to a decent amount of energy. 

Seriously how do they collect their samples? 

We're so close to the answer. Now, to actually get energy from manure, there are typically two different methods to look at; one uses heat and the other uses bacteria. The methods that use heat produce many different useful by-products, such as diesel fuel and bio-charcoal, which is nutrient-dense and helps in building soil carbon levels. 

Unfortunately, some of the heat-based processes that operate in a high-oxygen environment can also add to nitrogen pollution by producing nitrogen oxides during combustion. These emissions are lessened with processes that reduce or eliminate oxygen, but issues about air emissions and other challenges such as high capital expenses have caused heat-based processes to be a little concerning, especially with wetter stool. 

On the other hand, the biochemical process to get energy from manure breaks down the waste through anaerobic bacteria in a digester; an airtight tank or covered lagoon. The bacteria munch on the stool inside their gross little buffet and produce methane gas as a result. This process is best when used with moist stool, since the anaerobic bacteria need wet environments. Not only can the produced methane be captured and used in the process of energy production, but it has added environmental benefits. Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas, so using it in this way can help prevent it from going into the atmosphere and contributing to things like smog and global climate change. 

I guess it’s a good thing that those bacteria have some weird cravings. I wish something good could come from my love for cereal. So was this gross or did you learn a thing or two? Or both!? How else do you think we can power the world? Let know  down in the comments below.

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